Cannabis has been used for thousands of years as a source for hemp fiber and hemp oils, as well as for medicinal and recreational purposes. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in cannabis, along with numerous of other cannabinoids, can be used to treat a variety of ailments, such as nausea, pain, and neurological problems, in addition to causing psychoactive effects. Modern day patients or recreational users often consume cannabis by smoking or vaporizing the dried flower buds and subtending leaves, also known as marijuana, or by ingesting food made with cannabis extracts, such as hash oil.
There are numerous shortcomings to current cannabis usage methods. Smoking marijuana can cause inflammation of the lungs and reduce lung capacity. Vaporizing can involve expensive, battery powered devices, such as e-cigarettes, that often require recharging and repair. Eating food made with cannabis extracts leads to problems in judging the time necessary for any psychoactive effects to take place, as there are many variables involved, including the user's metabolism and the contents of the stomach at the time of ingestion. In some cases, the psychoactive effects of ingested cannabis can be delayed by up to two hours and may last for hours afterward, making it difficult to correctly estimate the desired amount of cannabis to consume.
As such, considering the foregoing, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for novel and improved compositions and methods for consuming cannabis that is not harmful to the lungs, does not require a separate piece of equipment to function, and can easily be discarded during usage.